Women who do not perform the first breast cancer detection exam have a 40% higher risk of dying because of this disease over the next 25 years, an international study published on the British Journal magazine on Thursday.
The international study was published on Thursday in British Medical Journal magazine. Photo: Shutterstock
The research, carried out in China and Sweden, analyzed the data of the Swedish mammographic screening program that targeted almost 500,000 women invited between 1991 and 2020, at the age of 50 – or, after 2005, from 40, reports News.ro.
Almost one third of them (32.1%) did not perform the first mammography, being less willing to participate in subsequent controls and having a higher probability of being diagnosed with breast cancer in advanced stages.
Although the incidence of the disease was similar between the two groups, breast cancer mortality was higher in women who refused the first screening: 9,9 deaths at 1,000, compared to 7 to 1,000 among those who performed it. This difference is explained, according to the researchers, by late detection of the disease.
The authors point out that although the study is observational and cannot directly demonstrate causality, the results confirm the major importance of the first screening as “Long -term investment in survival” women. They ask the authorities to improve information, support and encourage patients to participate in the first mammography.
